Vision

We envision a future in which humans and nature flourish together.

Earth Law will give ecosystems the same rights as people and corporations. This will enable the defense of nature in the courts—not only for the benefit of people, but for the sake of nature itself. Earth Law argues that humans and nature are not at odds, but are deeply connected and dependent on one another. Formal recognition of nature’s inherent right to thrive will enable the restoration of balance in the global environment.

Our planet’s health depends on a paradigm shift in law. In most countries, nature has the legal status of property. Under this system, the environment has no voice in decision-making and cannot bring issues to court.

Key Achievements

Legal Initiatives

We launched our first lawsuit as part of a California-wide initiative to list over-diverted waterways as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act.

We created the Universal Declaration of River Rights, for use in rights of nature projects for rivers in the U.S. and Mexico.

We created and unveiled the Earth Law Framework for Marine Protected Areas at the 4th International Marine Protected Area Congress. After a Call for Inputs we will finalize the framework and apply it to specific projects of Marine Protected Area governance.

Education

Developed and taught “Earth Law” graduate course at Vermont Law School and elsewhere.